Not all, but some, police officers are thieves, whether for private information of accused persons or their secured money.
The former case was evident in the recent mother-son suicide at Ramayampet in Medak district, where a police officer allegedly stole private information and harassed the accused along with other accomplices.
Theft of money by a police officer from an accused person is the latest in the ‘crimes by the police’, that too in the State capital under Rachakonda Police Commissionerate.
It all began in February, when Pahadishareef police along with the Crime and IT police from LB Nagar, in a joint operation, nabbed a gang that stole 192 brand new tyres worth nearly ₹30 lakh.
Three youths from Haryana had executed the theft by conducting a recce at tyre manufacture centres in Tamil Nadu, zeroed in on trucks headed to Haryana and boarded them as passengers. And when the truck entered Telangana limits, they threatened the driver and assistant with a firearm, blindfolded them and drove away with the tyres. Police had also said the same gang had stolen 220 brand new truck tyres in January.
‘Accused-Victim’
The ‘accused who turned a victim’ — Kamal Kabra, a tyre businessman in Begum Bazar here — was not an adventurous thief, but the 400-plus new tyres ended with him as he purchased them at half the printed price through two other middlemen, and as a receiver of stolen goods was named accused number six. After other police procedures, the 38-year-old was remanded to judicial custody.
It was only after his release on bail recently, he realised that he had become a victim of financial fraud. Reportedly, his bank statements showed debits worth about ₹5.5 lakh during the period when his payment cards and related credentials were with the police for investigation and he was inside the prison.
‘Police-Thief’
It was learnt that Mr. Kabra’s account showed several debits and they were made from various locations, reportedly even from outside Telangana. Whether the accused police officer was present during the transactions or it was done by his friends or family members is still not clear.
While police officials across ranks remained tight-lipped about anything related to the embarrassing development, two senior officials confirmed that the incident was true. They also confirmed the officer’s name, referred to him as belonging to the batch of 2007, and that the ‘theft money’ was about ₹5.5 lakh, and that an internal inquiry was in progress.
They said the matter was pending for action by Rachakonda Police Commisisoner Mahesh M. Bhagwat.
